Artemis Fowl 4 no title yet
by Anig0ne
Summary: Another human has found out about the People, and isn't planning to fight the Mud Person stereotype. The fairies need Artemis's help to keep their greatest fear from coming true. AH pairing. Rating may chage as necessary.
1. The Book

Right, this is my first fanfic in a looooong while, so if you do review, feel free to be vicious while I can still chalk it up to being out of practice.**

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**Fowl Manor, just outside Dublin, Ireland**

For the third June night in a row, Artemis Fowl the Second was to be found sitting at his computer until the last hours before dawn, his alert blue eyes under furrowed brows zeroed in on the words in front of him. He should have been tired, having barely slept in days, but instead he was utterly consumed by page after page of any information he could find regarding one subject:

Fairies.

Artemis had spend the last two months investigating the mysterious circumstances surrounding the mirrored contact lenses he, Butler, and Juliet had found planted in their eyes one morning. There weren't many clues to follow, it was true; the insistence of Butler's contact in Limerick that the man had been commissioned by Butler himself to construct the diminutive technological marvels was baffling, and though Artemis had been unable to find any significant new leads, he couldn't shake the uncanny feeling that this apparent conspiracy had somehow penetrated every aspect of his life. There was no reason to think that there was any correlation between Butler suddenly seeming to age a decade overnight; his father's inexplicable return from captivity by the Russian Mafia; his mother's sudden and miraculous return to sanity; his own recurring dreams of people and places he had once known, that evaporated from his memory before he could recall them; and, of course, the substantial amounts of gold and capital credit that had, according to the bank records, been accumulated over the last 18 months.

But even so, he was uneasy, as though there was something he'd overlooked, something he was supposed to do or know or decipher. There were entire days in which, he discovered, his strangely frail memories of his activities did not match with what, by other accounts, had actually happened, particularly when he consulted Butler, who was with Artemis at almost all times. But even during deep meditation, he could not wrap his mind around the ghostly residual imprints of something that seemed long forgotten.

It had been during his work on a Pascal Hervé forgery - a painting depicting miniature humans with wings and pointed ears - that Artemis felt the unexplainable urge to learn more about the mythical creatures known as fairies. As he searched the Internet, all the information he found seemed to slide into pre-molded grooves in his memory, as though he'd known of every myth, testimony, and depiction of a fairy for years without every really taking it in, and was only now interpreting them. The more he read, the more he felt that, somehow, the answers to all his questions were at the end of this search. Normally he would have been astounded by the amount of faith he was putting into something as unreliable as a hunch, but he was too focused on his research to dwell on it.

It was nearly 2 in the morning when something he read on a webpage caused Artemis to brake his trancelike state and sit up abruptly.

'The book...' he whispered mutely. His eyes squeezed shut and his fingers moved to massage his temples. Images flashed through his brain: him and Butler sitting in an outdoor restaurant somewhere in...Vietnam? When had he been there?...Then a splotchy green arm, reaching out through the shadows to hand him something the size of a matchbox...then images on his computer screen of impossibly familiar symbols...

He had begun combing through his disks and drawers before his head had stopped spinning. The Book of the People...he had it already, he had saved copies on disk and hidden several more throughout the house. Part of him was trying to understand what these new memories meant, how it was possible that he could have forgotten such a significant block of time, but image after image of passages from the Book and the time he'd spent decoding it still flickered in and out of his head like fireflies.

But the disk wasn't with his others, or anywhere in his desk. So he headed for one of the safes in which he now remembered hiding the backup copies. Even the lock combinations were coming back to him.

Artemis found nothing in the safe in the ceiling of his study, or in the one hidden behind the portrait of Artemis the First, or in the one behind one of the bookcases in the library. Obviously someone had been looking for the Book, though he was amazed that anyone could have gotten past all of Fowl Manor's security. But this adversary couldn't have simply wanted the book for himself, or he would have just taken one copy. No, someone had wanted to prevent Artemis from having access to the it be the fairies themselves? Was it possible that they had somehow wiped his memory of them as well? It all would have seemed far-fetched at best, if Artemis hadn't felt so strangely certain that it was true.

There was one last place he could look. It was better hidden than the others, which might prove advantageous; but the price of such stealth was security: the most dependable locks were usually also the most detectable. He was almost afraid to check and find it empty as well. What if some of his memories really were gone forever? But then, he had remembered finding the Book, so perhaps total recall was possible. Then how many of his questions would be answered with such information? And how long would it take him to find another copy of the Book if this one was gone, too?

When he reached the attic lounge, he strode to the chaise lounge in the corner and pulled it away from the wall. A combination lock on a small camouflaged door in the wall opened to reveal several bound stacks of hundred Euro bills. Artemis extracted each one, pushing them to the side until the safe was empty. Then he took a Rolex off his left wrist, and inserted the tiny key, which was crafted onto the watch's fastening device, into a minute hole in the edge of the back wall of the safe. A lock clicked, and the tiny door swung open to reveal a white folder fastened to the wall with adhesive, so that it appeared that there was just a blank wall behind the door. When Artemis removed the folder, an unlabeled CD-ROM slid out.

With a cry of triumph, Artemis seized his treasure and was halfway out of the room before he realized he hadn't closed the safe. So careless; quite unlike him. This whole fairy business was really messing with his head. He should really make an effort to stay more alert; if, as he suspected, the fairies were actively trying to prevent him from remembering them, then he would need to be on his guard until he knew more about their capabilities. The last thing he needed was to have his mind re-wiped and his last copy of the Book stolen on his way back to his study to read it.

Artemis couldn't say how he knew - perhaps it was the residual memory that seemed to be closer to his consciousness than ever before, now that he had remembered something - but he was certain that by noon, perhaps even by sunrise, he would finally have this mystery, and possibly several others, unraveled.


	2. Full Moon

Thanks for all the reviews, guys! It's very motivational. The last chapter was shorter than I generally like to do, but this one is almost 4 times as long. I'm hoping this will be the sort of standard length for chapters, give or take. Sorry there's no Artemis in this one; no one regrets more than I, but we should be getting back to him in the next chapter. In theory. Also, I'm looking for beta readers, so if anyone's interested, please please let me know.

Disclaimer: I don't own the backstory or the characters, except for Charlotte; don't sue, yada yada. Just in case, you know, Eoin Colfer is browsing through looking for plagiarists to make some money off of.

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**Tara, Ireland**

Charlotte Paulson was not your average teenager. She did not, for example, spend her Friday nights talking on the phone or watching TV, and she didn't spend nearly as much time on her schoolwork as her parents would have liked. But there were more important things than homework. - like solving the great mysteries of the world, and revealing secrets the human race fully deserved to know. She was certain that there was a plethora of 'mythological' creatures stealthily inhabiting the planet, ignored and undetected by most humans: ghosts, aliens, witches, and all manner of monster, invisibly integrated into our society or hidden just beyond the shadows. It was her job to reveal the disguised imposters for their true selves, and shine the flashlight's scrutinizing glow into those elusive shadows.

Most people thought that paranormal studies were preposterous. Most people thought Charlotte was strange - maybe even a little crazy - for wasting her time with it. She was used to being laughed at and getting funny looks by peers and elders who didn't recognize or respect her superior intellect, or her expertise in engineering, computer programming and hacking, and various fields of scientific research. To them, she was just a dumb kid who never grew out of a childhood phase, too obsessed with fantasy and science fiction to live in the real world.

Perhaps part of the reason people treated her like a kid was that she had always been petite for her age. At 5 feet, half an inch, she was the shortest 16-year-old in her class, and she had been cursed with a childish voice that made her sound about twelve.

But now that she'd gotten her driver's license, she was free to cruise around Ireland at all hours of the night while her parents thought she was in her room in Waterford. And freedom like that could only mean one thing: nightly stakeout.

The Lia Fáil was the logical place to go on a full moon; tree-hugging hippie types were always claiming to see fairies and other manner of creatures at this supposedly magical site. Most people chalked it up to the reefer, but Charlotte knew better. She was going to capture a fairy. Then she'd get the recognition she deserved. Someday she'd be famous for revealing the existence of the subjects of her years of research. Then she'd show them all. And if she didn't get something on fairies tonight, well, then tomorrow she'd turn her efforts back towards aliens until the next full moon. There was a field near Easkey where crop circles had recently sprung up...

Charlotte checked her wristwatch, but in the darkness of the hill overlooking the Lia Fáil, where she was stationed, she couldn't read the numbers. The digital watch was equipped with a florescent light for just such a dilemma, as well as a voice-activated speaker she'd installed herself, to read the time on command; you never knew, she might someday have both her hands and eyes incapacitated, and need to know the time in order to formulate a plan. But in this case, she couldn't risk either. Even the smallest stimuli should be avoided in case it alerted any creatures in the area to her presence. But then, she already had the laptop out, so a tiny blue light would hardly make any difference. Still, she was a bit paranoid. She held the watch up to the computer and read '2:18' by the glow of computer screen.

Brushing a loose strand of blonde hair behind her ear, she leaned over her laptop and gazed at the projected image from a tiny webcam hidden on the opposite edge of the bushes. She'd taken the camera apart a few months ago and reassembled it with added features she'd designed herself, one of which allowed her to zoom in clearly from a distance of up to 600 yards. At first glance, the mystical site seemed devoid of lifeforms. But on closer inspection, the entire area seemed to be wriggling before her eyes, like a giant heat haze. But according to her thermometer, it was 18°C outside...so either something was generating a lot of heat, or what she was seeing was...something else. Like there was something corporeal there, only invisible...like the shimmer in the air was just a cloaking device.

Time to test the theory. Reaching into her equipment bag, Charlotte dug around until she found her M92F tranquilizer gun with silencer, laser sight, and auto aim. She'd gotten this baby relatively cheap off the e-black market and added the features herself. Having the right contacts was essential for someone in her line of work, and she had them. When she was on the Internet, she was a different person. The web was _her_ world, where she was powerful and in control; a reputed and respected hacker and genius, and if anyone thought she was weird for chasing fairies, they certainly didn't say it to her face. They didn't know she was still in high school, that she was a running joke to her peers, or that her parents would ground her for life if they knew about half the illegal things she'd done. But most of the best hackers were nobodies in the physical world.

Glancing back at the computer screen, she saw them: three small people, the size of children, but with the proportions of adults, had seemed to materialize out of thin air. All three were female; no wings, but with definitely pointed ears. Other than that they looked human. Charlotte gaped for a full three seconds before her reflexes kicked in. She raised the gun, using the webcam footage to aim, but she wasn't fast enough. The three fairies flickered out of sight. Where they had stood there was just a shimmer in the air.

So it _was_ a cloaking device. And it was everywhere, which meant the site must be absolutely crawling with fairies. She didn't even have to aim perfectly; a few shots into the haze should hit at least one. Her brain screamed 'I knew it!' like a mantra as she found four darts in her bag and loaded the first. Then she aimed at the thickest cloud of haze, held her breath, and pulled the trigger.

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Corporal Grub Kelp was running on pure adrenaline. He was doing what he was born to do: police work. Sure, it was sometimes dangerous, life-threatening, and very scary, but it was worth it just to know he was protecting the safety of each and every ordinary citizen. There had been times when he'd considered giving up law-enforcement for the quiet life, but who knew what kind of chaos might erupt if he wasn't there to put a stop to it? Besides, his brother Trouble was a captain, and Mummy had made him promise to watch over Grub.

With a satisfying breath of aboveground night air, he puffed up his chest importantly and headed towards some law-breakers.

'Excuse me, ladies,' Grub said in his most authoritative voice, 'but you do realize that all fairies are required to shield while aboveground.'

The three pixies in question giggled softly under the mesmerizing effects of the full moon, and shimmered out of the visible spectrum. Grub could still see them, because of the anti-shield filter on his helmet. But shielded fairies appeared with a sort of light halo around their bodies through the shield filter. If a fairy was missing that halo, the officer knew they were plainly visible to any old Mud Man who happened to pass by.

'That's better. And if I _see_ any of you again, I might have to give you a warning.' Another job well done. If only Mummy could see him now, patrolling Tara on the full moon.

Fairies always went crazy this time of month, clamoring by the dozens through illegal tunnels to dance in the fresh air under the moonlight. Not that the air was as clean as it used to be, with all the pollution the Mud People had pumped into it - but at least it wasn't the recycled underground air they circulated through Haven. So each moon cycle, every elf, pixie, and sprite in the Lower Elements would feel drawn to the surface. It was up to the LEP to patrol the key sites and, when necessary, break up riots and herd overly rambunctious fairies back underground. And Grub had finally become one of them. There was no telling, he thought with a small twinge of excitement and a slightly larger twinge of fear, what kind of cacophony might break out tonight.

Grub turned away from the pixies, pulled a roasted beatle chocolate bar out of his pocket, and bit into it. Assignments like this, he thought, savoring his favorite snack, were sweet.

A voice in his ear made him jump so unexpectedly that he dropped what he was holding. 'Grub! Goblins at 3:00,' came the voice of Chix Verbil, his partner in patrolling. Grub looked to his left: on the far outskirts of the crowd, half a dozen goblins squatted together, whispering conspiratorially with fireballs gathered on their fists. This was bad. Goblins could cause a lot of trouble when they wanted to. Oh Frond, where was Trubs when they needed him? He and Verbil couldn't handle all those goblins on their own if they decided to wreak havoc - and knowing goblins, it was a safe bet that they would.

'I'd better fly over there and make sure they don't start a party of their own,' said Chix with a machismo that he must have thought was very impressive.

'Right,' said Grub, 'I'll be right behind you, I'm just gonna...call for backup first.' He switched his helmet-radio's frequency to match that of Commander Root, back at Haven.

'Control!' said Grub shakily into his helmet mike. 'We need backup. We've got a bunch of suspicious acting goblins about to cause a riot.'

Commander Root was on the line. That was Grub Kelp for you: all macho attitude when they were at base, but fell to pieces if he was confronted with real danger. But Trouble was one of their best, and eventually his little brother might mature a little and live up to the family name. In the meantime, it was all harmless traffic and patrolling duty. 'Negative, Corporal,' he barked. 'You two've got a Neutrino and a badge each; if they cause any trouble, arrest them.'

'But what if they start chucking fireballs?' whimpered Kelp.

The color in Root's already pink face went up a shade as he growled, 'All right, I'll send someone up there. But it's going to be a few minutes; it's the full moon and we don't have people to spare on every potential episode. In the meantime, just make sure those goblins don't start anything.'

'R-roger,' Grub stammered. 'You can c-count on us, Commander, sir.'

'Good,' snapped Root, and cut the connection.

Grub took another deep breath, but this time to calm his nerves. He could see Chix now hovering over the goblins with his gun out. He seemed to have the situation under control for now. Grub leaned forward to pick up his beatle bar.

Just as he was bending down, something whizzed by where his head had just been, and knocked his helmet (which he had unstrapped because it made his chin itch) clean off his head. There must have been another goblin behind him, maybe one to take out the LEP officers before they started their fun. But that seemed too suspiciously premeditated for goblins, who weren't exactly known for their intelligence. Grub grabbed his Neutrino out of its holster and spun around, ready for an attack, but there wasn't a goblin in sight. In fact, he realized, there wasn't anyone in sight, because of course, he had lost his helmet and, therefore, his anti-shield filter.

Just then, the air was pierced by a scream, and an unconscious elf materialized on the ground. Before he could react, Grub was pushed backwards by a crowd of invisible fairies backing away from the fallen one.

Chix left the goblins' side to investigate the victim, but within seconds, a second fairy in the crowd had collapsed with a thud. From where he was standing, Grub could make out a small dart in the pixie's back. They were being shot at! And he couldn't even locate the source of the darts, so his weapon was useless.

The crowd went from anxious and frightened to hysterical and frenzied in a matter of seconds. Soon Grub was being knocked about by fairies running in every direction, and the air was thick with sprites, the only naturally winged fairies, fleeing to safety, or at least out of the line of fire.

Meanwhile, the gang of goblins, who are much more prone to violence than cleverness, watched the chaos curiously for a moment before apparently deciding to join the fun. Now there were fireballs slicing through the air along with poisoned darts.

Grub dropped to the ground and searched for his helmet, but it had been kicked aside by the invisible forest of stampeding legs around him. Completely panicked, he followed his first instinct: he rolled into a ball and covered his head. This was bad, so bad. He just wanted to go home to his safe, warm bed...he wasn't cut out for this sort of thing..._why_ had they chosen _him _for a dangerous mission like this??

**Southeast Ireland**

Captain Holly Short clasped the acorn tightly in her hands and knelt on the soft grass beneath her. She almost expected to feel the faint rush of air that would accompany a shot speeding through the space above her head, and hear the voice of a Mud Boy who had recently had all his lessons in fairy commerce unlearned thanks to Foaly's mind-wipe. Even stranger, she found she was almost disappointed when she didn't.

Holly wasn't sure why she'd chosen to perform the Ritual at the same spot where she'd been kidnapped by the now infamous human Artemis Fowl almost two years ago; perhaps it was just for the sake of nostalgia. Or maybe part of her was just hoping for something exciting to happen. Things in Haven had been mind-numbingly dull for the last couple months, and while she knew she should be grateful for the peace and tranquility that she herself had helped to maintain, the captain had to confess that she never felt so alive as when she was risking her life in the heat of combat. Foaly would say that elves are just over-emotional, that they got bored if there wasn't some kind of drama to focus on. But Holly knew that fairies like her weren't meant to sit back and enjoy the benefits of a world made safe by others. She needed adventure; like the suspense of being in the middle of a mission where anything could go wrong, knowing that the security of the entire Lower Elements might well depend on her ability to think on her feet and execute a dangerous plan.

As she dug a small hole in the soil and tenderly buried the acorn in it, Holly realized with more than a little disconcertion that she missed the Mud Boy. He may have been arrogant, immoral, and at times infuriating, but one thing you could say about Artemis Fowl was that life around him was never boring. The next thing she felt was her powers surging into her through her hands. She closed her eyes and savored the sensation of the Earth's gift coursing through her veins.

Her thoughts were interrupted the next moment by Root's voice blaring in her ear. 'Short! I need you at Tara. We've got a potential situation with some goblins; Kelp and Verbil need backup.'

'I'm on my way,' said Holly, firing up her wings.

'And Short?'

'Yes, Commander?'

Root's voice was laced with threat. 'No funny business. I don't want an incident.'

Holly rolled her eyes and sighed. Root had been giving her a hard time ever since she'd first made Captain, and it didn't help that the sort of _incidents _he was talking about always seemed to happen around her. It wasn't that she went looking for trouble; it just tended to find her. And it didn't help that she wasn't exactly averse to disobeying orders she disagreed with.

'I heard that,' said Root, before switching off her frequency with a click.

Holly shielded, rose into the air, and headed North,towards Tara. Finally, something interesting. Maybe tonight wouldn't be disappointing after all.

**Tara, Ireland**

Charlotte fired the three remaining darts and watched the haze change shape as fairies ran, and apparently flew, in every direction. After a few moments, she saw something she didn't expect: when she zoomed in, she could see bright orange balls flying through the air...they looked like balls of fire, but where were they coming from? Perhaps a weapon? Maybe they were trying to retaliate. She smiled indulgently as she thought about what she could do with technology like that.

With that thought, she took out three more darts and fired each one. Then she quickly packed her equipment into her bag and carried it back to the car. She'd never been this close before. Nothing was going to stop her from capturing a real fairy this time. Tonight's the night, she reassured herself. Tonight's the night.

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As soon as Holly could see the anarchy at Tara from the distance, she knew something was very wrong. Flying closer, she could make out a panicking crowd, several disgruntled goblins, and a few unconscious fairies. She tuned her radio into Root's frequency. 'Commander, we've got a goblin riot at Tara, hysterical crowd, some possibly injured, I need a full Retrieval squad, pronto.' Normally, giving orders to the commander and using words like 'pronto' were unheard of, but this was no time for full sentences and formalities. Root grumbled something argumentative, but Holly was sure he would recognize an emergency situation and send the Retrieval team.

Hovering over the scene, she spotted Chix Verbil in the air, aiming his Neutrino at one of the goblins but apparently afraid to shoot because of all the panicked fairies running through his path. She flew over to his side.

'Captain!' said Chix, sounding relieved but still alarmed. 'I can't get a clear shot!'

'Leave it to me. You make sure those people are ok,' she ordered, nodding at the injured fairies. 'Backup is on the way.'

With that she flew towards the nearest goblin. There she went, giving orders again. But people's lives were more important than being polite.

Procedure specifically stated that belligerent goblins were not to be approached under any circumstances, but rather stunned from a distance. Root's voice echoed in her head: _No funny business. I don't want an incident._ But there was no way to get a clear shot unless she got close. Besides, having just performed the Ritual, she had maximum strength and healing power, so she could afford to get hurt.

Dodging a fireball, she circled halfway around the goblin and aimed her Neutrino: perfect shot. Another goblin to her right looked over when he saw his comrade fall, but since Holly was shielded, he couldn't see how it had happened. Holly took advantage of his confusion and aimed a second shot at his chest. Another bullseye; two down, four to go.

The crowd had started to thin, partly because of how many fairies had run for cover, and partly because of the handful that had fallen at the to goblinfire. Holly spotted another goblin and, seeing a clear shot, fired. But luck was on the his side; he stepped to the side just before the charge hit him.

'D'Arvit!' she swore. She waited for a gap in the crowd between them, then fired again, and this time her aim was true. Goblin number three went down.

But two of the remaining goblins were now looking in her direction. Apparently they'd figured out that someone was shooting at them, and were looking towards where the shots were coming from. Their looks were quickly followed by four streams of fireballs, two from each direction. Holly pulled the throttle on her wings and shot upwards just in time to avoid a fiery collision.

She circled overhead, trying to keep moving, and aimed her weapon carefully at one of the two livid goblins from over his head. If she shot one, the other would fire at her from below. She had to get both of them within a second of each other, before the other could retaliate. She bit her bottom lip, a nervous habit she'd always had, and fired the first shot. Without taking a second breath, she turned the gun a few degrees and fired again.

But before she could see it hit its target, she felt an impact and a sharp pain in her left shoulder. She turned left just in time to see another fireball inches from her. It collided with her mechanical wings, and Holly immediately felt herself losing altitude.

She crashed to the ground hard and watched the darkness shrink her field of vision until everything was black. The last conscious thought she had was of a searing pain in her arm before she passed out.

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Ooooo, sorry to leave ya hanging there! Let me know what y'all think. 


	3. Old Memories

Thanks again for all the reivews, guys! I can't even express how much I appreciate it. Oh yeah, so for those of you who were wondering:

-Charlotte is smart, but that's only so that she's a challenging adversary. She is, of course, no match for Arty. I actually think I gave her too much stage time originally, and if I hadn't already posted this and gotten readers, I'd probably go back and rewrite the beginning a little and take away most of her povs. It's mostly just plotting and technobabble and her monologues are starting to get on my nerves. So I'm revising my plans for the later chapters just as bit, so that I can spend more time writing characters I actually like, which is why it's taken me so long to update. At least this one is nice and long ;-). I actually don't have this entire story planned out yet, so the occasional writer's block is inevitable. But if you get really impatient, a well-placed comment lighting a fire under my ego is the best way to motivate a centaur. I mean, human.

-I probably should specify, before I waste any more shippers' time, that the 'romance' part of the story is Arty/Holly. (I mean, come on, what else _is_ there?? Arty and Juliet? Pft.) On that same note, I have to confess that I can be a sucker for romance. But I also recognize that it's really hard to write it without succumbing to cheesy & unrealistic clichés, and that kind of thing can just ruin a romantic scene or story for me. So I would really appreciate it if you guys could just let me know if you think any part of this gets too sappy or ridiculous or hard to believe, so that I can try to make it more realistic.

-If you didn't already know, a **numismatist **is a person who studies coins, paper money, tokens, and medals. A **cracker **is an old-fashioned insulting term for an (often amateur) hacker who wastes their abilities installing viruses into strangers' computers and messing up people's websites instead of doing something useful with their skills.

Disclaimer: If i said that this was all mine, would anyone really believe me?

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LEP Headquarters, Haven City, Lower Elements**

When Holly opened her eyes, she recognized her surroundings as the operations booth at the LEP base headquarters. For a moment she felt disoriented to wake up somewhere other than her own bed. Then she remembered the goblins....how had it ended? The last thing she remembered was getting stung with two fireballs by the last remaining goblin. The second hit to her mechanical wings must have been what made her fall...Suddenly, she sat up straight.

'Captain, you're awake,' came the voice of Trouble Kelp.

'What happened? There was another goblin-'

'It's ok, Chix had already taken care of him by the time my team got up there.'

'What about the injured-'

'Relax, Captain, we got 'em. You did your job. We were just getting a play by play of what happened.'

Holly suddenly noticed how many people were in the room. Foaly was looking very preoccupied at his computer, and Grub was pouting in a chair in the corner. Then she looked past Trouble and saw that Chix Verbil was chattering away to Commander Root, and anyone else who would listen.

'...so naturally, with the captain injured, I did what any gentleman would do, and I protected the lady and took care of the rest of the goblins.'

'Like hell you did!' Holly blurted out.

Chix looked at Holly as though noticing her for the first time.

'Come on, I save _both_ your asses,' she said, nodding towards Grub, '_yours_ for the second time in less than a year,' this time she looked significantly at Verbil, 'and all you can do is try and take all the credit?'

Chix looked guiltily at the ground. Grub was just whimpering about having lost his helmet.

'Short!' barked Root ominously. 'Did you, or did you not, intentionally initiate close proximity to a belligerent goblin?' the look he gave Holly was his most infamous; the one that had earned him the nickname 'Beetroot.'

'Commander, I didn't have a choice, I couldn't get a clear-'

'THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE WAITED FOR RETRIEVAL!' Root's faced looked about to explode. 'You know the rules, Short, and I'm tired of repeating them to you!'

'But sir, there were injured civilians! I had to do _something_.'

'And instead of getting yourself injured when I needed you there for backup, that _something _should have been helping Private Verbil with debilitating the other five goblins in a manner in accordance with procedure!'

'_I _was the one who took out the other five goblins!' Holly wasn't usually so defensive. Normally she just accepted the Commander's criticisms and took them with a grain of salt. But she had just saved who knew how many people; she'd diffused an out-of-control goblin riot when both officers on duty were unable to; and not only was she in trouble, not only was she being chewed out in front of her colleagues, but to add insult to injury, not a single person had simply patted her on the shoulder and said 'Well done, Captain.' It wasn't that she _needed_ to hear it, but some recognition once in a while would have been nice.

Root's voice was calmer, which was an unusual phenomenon. 'Captain, we have had this conversation too many times. If you don't follow procedure, then I'm going to have to take disciplinary action. I'll let this one slide because we've got bigger problems to deal with, but if something like this happens again, you're on probation.'

Part of Holly wanted to scream at the injustice of it all, but the other part of what Root had said had piqued her curiosity. She took a deep breath and willed herself to control her temper. 'What do you mean, bigger problems?'

This time it was Grub that was the recipient of Root's hostile glare. 'It seems that Corporal Kelp has lost his helmet on the surface.'

'So we'll go back up and find it. What's the problem?'

Foaly finally spoke. 'It's not that simple. It turns out there was a human lurking around about 400 meters from Tara. From that hill just to the west, so he'd have a perfect view.'

'But as long as everyone was shielded...' then Holly realized what Foaly meant. A fairy has to be fully awake to shield. And when she'd arrived, there had been several unconscious fairies on the ground, perfectly visible from 400 meters to anyone with a pair of binoculars. Not to mention that you couldn't make flying fireballs invisible.

'He's gone now, of course,' Foaly continued, 'But I'd bet anything that this was the guy shooting the tranquilizer darts.'

'Tranquilizer darts?' echoed Holly, alarms going off in her head.

'That is apparently how the riot started,' explained the Commander. 'An unseen sniper caused something of a panic, and all the chaos set the goblins off. What _I _would like to know, is how a Mud Man got past _your _locators, Foaly!'

'There's nothing wrong with the locators!' said Foaly defensively. 'But if you don't _check _them regularly, anyone can sneak into range without being detected.'

'Oh _really_?' Root was practically baring his teeth at Chix and Grub. Foaly winked at Holly and she smiled back gratefully.

'While Retrieval was collecting all the injured,' Foaly went on, 'the Mud Man left his hiding place and approached the site. Of course, by then, we'd checked the locators, and they were able to get out of there in time. But they didn't have time to look for the helmet. The human, however, did. According to the locator, it looks like he took the helmet to Dublin airport and got on a plane. It's moving south at we speak.'

'Fine,' said Root, 'Trouble, I'm sending you to retrieve the helmet and wipe the Mud Man's memory.'

'Wait a minute,' interrupted Holly. 'Doesn't this strike anyone else as being a little too familiar?' Several faces turned towards her, but nobody spoke. She sighed with exasperation. 'This whole thing reeks of Artemis Fowl.'

'Nonsense, Captain. Fowl has had his memories wiped,' said Root confidently.

'He found us once, sir, he could do it again.'

'Short, you checked up on him yourself not three weeks ago, and no restored memories. There's no way he could have regained them _and _concocted this kind of attack in just three weeks.'

'But we could be walking right into another trap!'

'I have to go ahead and agree with Holly on this one, Julius,' confessed Foaly. 'If it is Fowl, he'll be two steps ahead of us already. I say we send someone to check up on him; he's almost due for his monthly inspection anyway. Then we know for sure.'

'First of all, pony boy, don't call me Julius. Second of all, it's not up to _you_ to make executive decisions. That's _my_ job. And I say we're sending someone after the helmet. Whoever took it is on that plane, not at Fowl Manor.'

Holly persisted, 'But if this is anything like the first time-'

'This is nothing like the first time, Short, because we're going after fairy equipment, not trying to save a hostage. This Mud Man, whoever he is, has got nothing to blackmail us with. Foaly, set Trouble and his team up with whatever equipment they'll need. The rest of you are dismissed. We'll discuss the incident at Tara after we've got this situation resolved.'

Holly wanted to argue but her instincts made her hold her tongue. Once old Beetroot had made up his mind, he was obstinate. Still fuming, she turned and left the room, slamming the door just hard enough to make an impression.

**Fowl Manor, Ireland**

Artemis was reading through the Book on his computer for the third time over. Overkill, perhaps, but he wanted to make sure he wasn't missing anything.

The contents of the Book would have been quite compelling on their own, but Artemis had barely had time to take note of how familiar it already seemed when he'd started having flashbacks. The LEP...trolls...Mulch Diggums...time stops...Holly...At first they were just words floating in his head with no real meaning. All except for this Holly, whom he could see quite clearly. Short auburn hair and nut brown skin, hazel eyes that burned with mischief and vitality, and long, slender hands that could heal wounds almost instantly, fire weapons with impressive accuracy, and, he remembered with a wince, punch with surprising strength.

He'd torn his eyes from the screen at that point and buried them in his hands as the memories trickled back to him. An elf, a fairy...Captain Holly Short, LEP Recon officer...in a cement-lined room - a cell, more accurately - staring at him, speechless, with contemptuous disbelief and unrestrained hatred...Holly, lying in the snow while Artemis clutched her shoulders fearfully, asking whether she was ok...a small gold coin with a hole through the middle, still warm in his hands, and Holly's voice: 'To remind you that deep beneath the layers of deviousness, you have a spark of decency. Perhaps you could blow on that spark occasionally.'

Artemis slowly reached for the leather cord around his neck and pulled the gold coin into his hands. He had found it in his own desk drawer shortly after the contact lens had been discovered, and felt almost certain that the two were related. But he'd shown it to every numismatist he could find, and none had ever seen anything like it, though they all confirmed that it was pure gold. Though he didn't know where it had come from or how it came to be in his possession, and was somewhat alarmed by his apparent sentimental attachment to such an alien object, Artemis had taken to wearing the medallion around his neck like a talisman, as though it had been a habit he was somewhat reluctant to break.

Still running his fingers along the raised images and Gnommish letters on the face of the coin, Artemis closed his eyes again as more memories returned to him: his mother coming down the stairs with a warm maternal smile on her face, breathing in her perfume as she hugged him close; his father's face, pale and gaunt and stung with cold by the icy Arctic waters, as Holly pressed her hands to his chest and released healing blue sparks into his body; Butler lying on top of a desert tray in a seafood restaurant, blood seeping through a fatal wound in his chest as he told a sobbing Artemis to call him 'Domovoi...'

Perhaps it was the exhaustion of being up all night finally catching up to him, or maybe the intensity of his returning memories was too much for even his brain, but mere minutes after Artemis closed his eyes to concentrate better, his head fell forward and he drifted to sleep right there on his desk. As he slept, his mind replayed the recaptured events of the last 18 months, constructing realistic but convoluted dreams of his adventures with the People.

* * *

Mrs. Fowl knocked on Artemis's door around noon to see if he was hungry, but, upon seeing him asleep, began revisiting her frequent worries about her son's reclusiveness ever since he had returned from school for the summer. She had hoped that her husband's homecoming from the hospital would have more of a positive effect on the boy, especially with Timmy's newfound ambition to put his family first, and their mutual hope for their son to reclaim his lost youth. Instead, he had seemed even more distant the last couple months. 

Artemis Senior had been troubled and disappointed at this turnaround, saying that Arty had been much more receptive to his attempts at bonding when he was in Helsinki. Angeline only hoped that he didn't resent them for sending him back to boarding school; but what else could they do? Just give in and let him spend the rest of his life in his study, isolated from the rest of the world, conducting all his affairs and business ventures from his computer?

With a sad sigh, Angeline brushed a strand of her son's raven hair behind his ear, and kissed him softly on his cheek. He stirred slightly, then relaxed again, though the lines etched deeply around his eyes remained, and his eyelids twitched as he dreamed. His mother gently covered his sleeping form with a blanket before she left the room.

* * *

Artemis awoke slouched over his desk with his head on one arm and the medallion clasped in his other hand. His dreams were still fresh in his mind, and as he recalled them, he realized that he wouldn't forget them, because they weren't just dreams - they were memories. 

And there were so many of them...he hadn't realized, when he'd searched the house for hidden copies of the Book, that there would be so much he had been made to forget. More than two years of memories, if you included the research he'd done on the fairies before his initial contact with them. And not just of ordinary events, but of situations he could not have possibly gone through, he realized, without having to examine and rethink his life several times over. He could not have experienced all these things and come out of it the same person he'd been before. But then...who did that make him now? Was he still the person he'd always been? The self-serving, cold-hearted criminal mastermind who cared only for his own obtainment of wealth without a thought to spare for the suffering of others? Would he ever again be the Artemis Fowl that the fairies must have known, when he himself had never known such a person? Did he even want to?

Artemis pushed these questions to the back of his mind. First things first: he wanted total recall. The recollections he had were scattered and out of order. Ideally, he would have liked to be able to read a diary of the events, preferably one he'd written himself. In fact, he was almost certain that he'd kept one, though undoubtedly the fairies had confiscated it when they'd wiped his mind. So he settled for the next best thing, his best remaining link to the fairies: their Book. As he read through it, more memories returned to him, slowly sorting themselves into chronological order as he took notes on the events and their most likely sequence. Then he'd read through it a second time, and, as he expected, more detailed memories returned to him.

Now he was just making sure there was nothing left that he'd missed. The flow of information had long since ceased, but the notes he'd taken were still insufficient. It was one thing to experience these events; it was quite another to try and put previously erased memories back together without a frame of reference. He needed his diary, there was nothing else for it. But this would have to do for now.

Artemis was just starting to acknowledge the growling in his stomach when a warning sign flashed onto his computer. His security system had detected an intruder in his system. A hacker. He reacted immediately, executing a program of his own design, which would immediately stop any current downloads from or uploads to his hard drive, and prevent any more until he deactivated the program. Then he traced the IP address of the intruder. The server was secure, so he couldn't get an address; but he could still send a message.

'Well well well. If it isn't a good old-fashioned cracker. I didn't know they still made you.'

A moment later, the intruder answered.

'An easy mistake to make. I'm sure it's been a while since the great Artemis Fowl the Second has dealt with a hacker more skilled than himself.'

Artemis chuckled at the presumption. 'And I suppose you think you're going to break that record.'

'I already have. You may have severed my connection, but you can't take back what I've already downloaded. And don't bother trying to hack into my system and delete it, because I've already saved it to a disk.

Artemis had already started writing a new program, a virus which would wipe out any information downloaded to the recipient's computer in the last 24 hours. He now added a feature to make hacker's system crash the next time a foreign object, such as a floopy disk or CD-ROM, was inserted, and then wipe all information from said disk so it couldn't be used on another computer. A bit vindictive, it was true, but he couldn't let people get away with trying to outsmart Artemis Fowl II. He could only hope that this hacker tried to view the disk in his own computer before deciding to opt for a more secure system.

'Oh my, I guess you're too smart for me,' he wrote back, hoping the sarcasm came through to this recklessly arrogant rival.

'You're about to find out just how much smarter,' the hacker wrote back. 'But first, a business proposition.'

'And why would I want to do business with someone who's just broken past my firewalls?'

'Because I've just broken past your firewalls. How many people do you know who have done that?'

It was true. There hadn't been many. All the more reason to be wary.

'And, of course, because I've now got some information I don't think you want me to share with the rest of the world.'

'And might I have the courtesy of knowing by whom I'm being threatened?'

'If you want to know that, you'll have to wait until we've arranged a meeting. Does the Lord Edward work for you? The restaurant, of course, since you'll be too young to drink at the pub.'

Ouch. Artemis would never admit it, but one of the best ways to make him angry was with a jibe about his age. This foolish opponent was just asking to be taught a lesson. With renewed incentive, he finished the virus he'd been programming and sent it to his adversary.

'Call me ungrateful, but I think I'll pass on your offer of...what was it? Oh yes, blackmail, and take my chances with your alleged disk full of confidential information.'

'Perhaps you'll change your mind when I tell you exactly what's on that disk.'

'I doubt it, but gloat if you must.'

'Your translation of the Book.'

Artemis' heart caught in his throat. Was it possible?

'And of what book might you be speaking?'

'The book of the fairies, of course. How else would I know you had it?'

The wheels in Artemis' mind churned furiously. If this person had found the Book that quickly, it could only mean that he'd come in looking for it. So he'd obviously suspected that Artemis had it before he'd hacked through the system. Still, this person couldn't do anything harmful without the actual book, and the virus he'd constructed would take care of that. So no sense in incriminating himself.

'Fairies, eh? I see. Well, I'd love to further pursue our palaver, but I like to avoid contact with the psychologically disturbed, as they can be prone to violence when agitated.'

'Yes, of course, Artemis Fowl and his infamous mind games. Perhaps I should have started by telling you about the monetary reward you will get for assisting me. All I want from you is information, and in return, you can name your price, because I'll be making enough money for both of us to retire now and live out the rest of our days as millionaires.'

For a moment, Artemis was tempted. Then he felt a resolve he hadn't expected.

'I'm already a millionaire, and even if I had the information you're seeking, pardon me if I don't believe your promises of unlimited riches. I make quite enough working on my own without having to worry about a business partner stabbing me in the back and keeping the spoils for himself.'

'All I want is a meeting. I know you know about the fairies. I'm probably the only other person in the world with proof of their existence. Just think of what we could accomplish if we joined forces.'

'Thanks, not interested,' Artemis continued. 'But I want you to know, my unworthy opponent, that I appreciate you taking time out of your day to help me test out my system's security. Obviously some updates are required, so I'd better get to work on them. Oh, and good luck with your fairy hunting. I'm sure you'll soon find the white padded room at the end of the rainbow.'

He severed the connection before his opponent could respond. But he didn't return to his rereading of the Book; instead, he sat quite still, his heavily lined eyes unfocused, and thought about what this new development might mean.

* * *

**  
Operations Booth, LEP Headquarters, Haven City**

Foaly had a strong affection for his friend Holly, and he truly enjoyed the time they spent chatting about work and bonding over their mutual exasperation with their boss, Commander Root. But sometimes, the elf could get a tad too emotional for her own good...or Foaly's own sanity.

'I really think you're getting too stressed out about all this,' he said as sympathetically as he could, so as not to turn the livid fairy's anger on himself.

'Too stressed out?? He's threatening to put me on probation for Frond's sake! And meanwhile if it hadn't been for me, there still would have been six rioting goblins when that sniper showed up to investigate. But does anybody care what I do? No. Not unless it involves "going against procedure," and then I get threatened with "disciplinary action."'

'Julius won't put you on probation, he's just trying to scare you into following orders,' Foaly insisted, munching boredly on a carrot.

'Easy for you to say, you're irreplaceable. I get yelled at if I come in five minutes late.'

'You know Julius, he yells at everyone he likes. He knows you're the best Recon officer he's got; you should take it as a compliment.'

'Hey, I thought you were on my side!'

'I am! I just think you're getting too worked up over this. If you want to worry, worry about whether that Fowl kid has got any new tricks up his sleeve.'

'So you think it's him, then?' asked Holly, calming down a bit at the change of subject.

'It could be. Not quite up to his usual standard; all he got was a helmet. But who knows, he could have a plan we haven't anticipated, especially if he's got his memories back.'

Holly wouldn't have admitted it, but she was almost hoping that was the case. Fowl might have been classified as a threat to the People, but that didn't change the fact that the memories of the time they'd spent on their various intrigues usually left her with a satisfied smile on her face. Not that she would ever admit to enjoying herself in the presence of the Mud Boy known as public enemy number one to all her colleagues.

'True,' she said instead. Then she voiced something that had been bothering her for a while. 'But last time I saw him, he was back to his old, amoral self, just like he predicted. So if he's after more fairy gold, we can't be sure how far he'll go to get it.' She put a hand to the crook of her rightelbow, where she'd been injected with sodium pentathol when Artemis had first captured her.

But wait a minute...he'd said they'd had her on a drip for three days, yet she'd been told after her release that the time-stop had been put in place the same night she was kidnapped. And they'd found out, too, that his source of information had been the Book all along, which meant he wouldn't have needed her to tell him anything. So Artemis had lied about how long she'd been there, and probably about the truth serum, as well.

As much as the thought of their first meeting made her shudder, the realization that, even then, the miscreant had been more comfortable using mind games than risking physical harm to his captive, was somehow comforting. Maybe he wasn't quite as evil as he came off.

Before Foaly could respond, Commander Root's face appeared on the intercom. 'Foaly, we have a problem. Is Short in there?'

'Right here, sir,' Holly replied, stepping into view of the monitor.

'Trouble's team just returned from South Africa. The locator must have been detached from the helmet. It was tucked into a luggage tag on some Mud Man's suitcase.'

'And the Mud Man?' inquired Foaly.

'He was questioned under the _mesmer_. No knowledge whatsoever of fairy affairs or the incident at Tara. It must have been planted there as a diversion.'

Foaly and Holly couldn't help exchanging superior glances.

'What's that supposed to mean?' ejaculated Root furiously.

Foaly was the one to answer him. 'Only that we told you it was probably a trick. I still say we should send someone to check up on Fowl. But, of course, it's _your_ decision, Julius, not mine.'

'Well it just so happens, donkey, that I've already made a decision. And I've decided that Captain Short should make Fowl's monthly checkup a few days early.' He turned to Holly. 'You've dealt with the Mud Boy more than anyone else, so I expect you'd be better at dealing with him if he's got his memories back than someone unfamiliar with his...tactics. Besides, you're the only one with an invitation to enter Fowl Manor, and he should be home for the summer by now.'

'Yes, sir, I'm on my way,' said Holly, trying to sound more resigned than excited.

'I don't want you unshielding or making any contact unless absolutely necessary, Captain. Just find out whether he's behind all this and report to Foaly on your headset. And remember, you break the rules one more time and it's probation. Understood?'

'Yes, sir,' she sighed, not having to fake emotion this time.

'Good. Now get going.' The screen went black as Root cut the connection.

'Looks like you're taking another trip to the surface,' said Foaly encouragingly. 'Excited?'

Holly scoffed. 'To see Fowl? Yeah, right.'

She averted her eyes then, so she didn't catch Foaly's responsive smirk.


End file.
